The University of Connecticut women's basketball team put the finishing touches on its 2012-13 season with a trip to the White House for the third time since 2009 as President Barack Obama welcomed the team to the executive mansion to commemorate the Huskies 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. UConn finished the season with a 35-4 record and claimed its record-tying eighth national championship with a 93-60 victory over Louisville on April 9. The Huskies have now won seven national titles since 2000 and have made 14 trips, including a record six-straight, to the Final Four.

USA U19 Gold

Behind a stifling defensive effort, as well as 16 pts., 9 rebs. 3 blks from UConn So. F Breanna Stewart (U19 Tournament MVP), the 2013 USA U19 World Championship Team (9-0) held France (7-2) to just 8 total points in the second half en route to a 61-28 victory and the USA's fifth-straight FIBA U19 World Championship gold medal on Sunday night in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The U.S. has claimed six of the last seven U19 gold medals and boasts a 54-4 record over that span, while owning an all-time 66-12 record in U19 play. Stewart's 152 points lists as the all-time USA U19 scoring record, surpassing the 147 points scored by Maya Moore in 2007. She also has the highest 3-point percentage of any USA U19 team member in history after shooting a sizzling 58.3 percent (14-24 3ptFGs), eclipsing the 57.1 percent shot beyond the arc by Cappie Pondexter in 2001. Fellow UConn So. F Morgan Tuck who averaged a USA second-best 13.1 points a game during the tournament, scored all of her six points in an 8-4 spurt to open the second half and with 14:45 remaining in the contest the USA led 37-24 while UConn So. G Moriah Jefferson was credited with game-highs of five assists and four steals. Stewart now has 6 gold medals for USA to her name while Tuck now has 4 and Jefferson has 2.

USA WUG Gold

UConn All-American Sr. G Bria Hartley scored a game-high 17 points and was 6-7 from the floor while UConn All-American Jr. W Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 15 points to lead Team USA to gold at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia with a 90-71 win over Russia on Monday night. USA now has won three-consecutive gold medals, and nine overall, at the World University Games. USA limited Russia to just 41.6 percent shooting (27-65 FGs) and 31.4 percent in the first half (11-35 FGs), and forced 20 turnovers, which led to 27 U.S. points. Hartley led USA in scoring for the WUG tournament with 13.5ppg and finished 2nd on the team in assists with 3.3ppg while Mosqueda-Lewis led the team in rebounding with 6.8rpg and finished 2nd on the team in scoring with 13.0ppg. Both Huskies now have 4 gold medals for the USA to their name.

(Via Rich Elliott's CT Post blog)

UConn incoming freshman Saniya Chong has been named the National High School Senior Athlete of the Year in girl’s basketball by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA). She was one of 20 athletes honored nationwide. Chong, who was also named the Parade All-American Team’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year and a WBCA All-American, will be honored in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum that will be built in Easton, Pa. She averaged 34.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 4.8 steals and 2.0 blocks last season in leading Ossining (N.Y.) High to the state Class AA championship.

“The 20 young men and women we are honoring today represent the thousands of success stories produced in high school athletics,’’ NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro Jr. said in a statement. “They have worked extremely hard to develop their skills and have become not just great athletes, but outstanding role models as well, and we are proud to be honoring them.’’ 

American Athletic Conference begins...

The Big East as we once knew it has officially gone. The dawn of the American Athletic Conference took place at midnight. The Catholic 7 (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova) have broken off to form another version of the Big East along with Butler, Creighton, and Xavier. Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse have joined the ACC. Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, SMU and Temple have come aboard in all sports. Louisville (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) will stick around one more year before leaving for their new home.